East Michigan Environmental Action Coalition, Allied Media Projects and the Environmental Justice Program of the Detroit Sierra Club join forces to bring together the urban agriculture, environmental justice, media justice, and community arts movements of Detroit to celebrate and reflect on the cross-sections of our work through the a presentation o the Beehive Design Collective's “The True Cost of Coal” large-format graphic banner. On November 6, 2010, 6pm at the 555 Gallery (3041 W. Verner Hwy, Detroit), the Beehive Design Collective will share their innovative creative communications strategies. “The True Cost of Coal” speaks on complicated issues of mountain top removal and coal mining while also showing how people survive these issues using creative solutions. This innovative creative communications strategy resonates with a lot of work that is happening in Detroit as we are all using creative problem solving to address the injustices and struggles Detroiters face. The November 6 event is an opportunity for all of us to share our creative solutions and learn from each others organizing tactics.
This is a family event – but please RSVP to diana@emeac.org as space is limited
Two years in the making, “The True Cost of Coal”, is an elaborate narrative illustration that explores the complex story of mountaintop removal coal mining and the broader impacts of coal. The image is the culmination of an intensive, collaborative research process. To make the poster, the Beehive Collective interviewed hundreds of community members throughout the Appalachian region. The Bees craft these stories into visual metaphors, weave them together in a patchwork “quilt,” and share them with audiences as a larger-than-life banner.
The most effective strategies are the ones that work in situations of scarce resources and intersecting systems of oppression because those solutions tend to be the most holistic and sustainable. Detroit is the home to several creative problem solving and grassroots community building groups. Detroit holds a rich ecosystem of creative problem solving and grassroots community building including Allied Media Projects, the Detroit Summer Live Arts Media Project, People’s Water Board, Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, East Michigan Environmental Action, the 555 Gallery, the Environmental Justice Program of Sierra Club Detroit and the list goes on. The city is vibrant with people working on sustainable, intentional ways to rebuild Detroit in a way that included the needs and voices of the communities that are directly impacted by economic and environmental injustices.
The Beehive's banner-lectures prompt discussions and understanding of contemporary struggles about energy and coal, while honoring the deep legacy of the Appalachian experience. The Beehive Collective is currently on a nation-wide tour to distribute the graphic throughout the country.